Future strangers

Couched [in an article about procrastination](http://nautil.us/issue/16/nothingness/why-we-procrastinate) is this fascinating study result:

> Using fMRI, Hershfield and colleagues studied brain activity changes when people imagine their future and consider their present…their neural activity when they described themselves in a decade was similar to that when they described Matt Damon or Natalie Portman.

If our future selves are truly strangers to us, that affects how we design behavior change and plan for the future. We need to build empathy with ourselves the same [ways we build it with others](http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_habits_of_highly_empathic_people1)–through trying new experiences, challenging our beliefs, and cultivating curiosity about the unknown. This points to an [experiential futures](http://futuryst.blogspot.com/2014/04/a-history-of-experiential-futures.html) approach to design, as well as a need for individual, interactive tools for people to explore their own possible futures. And it suggests that successful approaches will address the emotional side of decisions as much or more than rational thoughts.

It’s an important aspect to consider when designing the future. After all, the next stranger you encounter could be…you!